St. John's Athletics | March 31, 2015

Mullin returns home; named St. John's coach

QUEENS, N.Y. -- Thirty years after leading St. John’s to the highest point in program history with an appearance in the 1985 Final Four, Chris Mullin is returning home.

Director of Athletics Chris Monasch announced on Tuesday that Mullin -- a Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer and St. John’s basketball legend -- has been named the 20th head coach in the university’s storied 107-year men’s basketball history. A longtime NBA star and front office executive, Mullin transformed St. John’s into the top team in the nation during his venerable playing career in Queens.

A press conference to formally introduce Mullin as St. John’s head coach is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Carnesecca Arena. Fans can watch the press conference on ESPN3 produced by SJU-TV, St. John’s University’s broadcast platform.

“We are very pleased to welcome back Chris Mullin to St. John’s,” said St. John's president Conrado "Bobby" Gempesaw. “I know that Chris will be an inspiring coach for our basketball players and a great ambassador for St. John’s University. His passion for the game and love for the university is a winning combination that will strengthen our basketball program, and support our efforts to ensure student success in academics and athletics.”

“Obviously, it’s a surreal experience coming home and returning to St. John’s University. This is a role I have been preparing for all of my life,” said Mullin. “There are so many people who have had a great influence on me to reach this point, especially my parents, Coach Carnesecca and my former teammates. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Gempesaw for providing me this tremendous opportunity to give back to the university where I spent some of the greatest years of my life.”

“Today, we are proud to welcome home a true St. John’s and New York City sports icon,” Monasch said. “Three decades ago Chris Mullin led a resurgence of St. John’s basketball and since then we have admired his accomplishments in the professional ranks as a player and executive. As we embark on this next chapter of our storied history, it is with great pride and excitement one of our most revered student-athletes returns to take the reins of a program he once vaulted into the national spotlight.”

“I look forward to mentoring our current and future players, passing along knowledge and aiding in their development to help them reach their goals, similar to the impact Coach Carnesecca had on me thirty years ago,” Mullin said.

With nearly a decade of NBA front office experience, Mullin spent the last two seasons working for the Sacramento Kings organization as a senior advisor, providing guidance to owner Vivek Ranadivé and general manager Pete D’Alessandro regarding player transactions and supervising the organization’s college and overseas scouting program. Mullin previously served five years as the Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Golden State Warriors.

One of the great collegiate and NBA players of all time, Mullin was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. A two-time gold medalist who ranks seventh all-time on the USA Basketball Olympic scoring list, Mullin was first enshrined in Springfield in 2010 as a member of the 1992 United States Olympic team, also known as the original “Dream Team.” He was the ninth individual affiliated with St. John’s basketball program to be inducted into the national hall.